Sam Hartman threw for three scores and set the ACC record for career touchdown passes while helping Wake Forest notch a 27-17 victory over Missouri on Friday night in the Gasparilla Bowl at Tampa, Fla.
Hartman completed 23 of 36 passes for 280 yards and one interception as Wake Forest (8-5) won for just the second time in six games. Hartman, who has 110 touchdown passes, entered the game in a tie with former Clemson star Tajh Boyd (107 from 2010-13).
Taylor Morin caught two touchdown passes and Jahmal Banks had one for the Demon Deacons. Justice Ellison added a scoring run and A.T. Perry caught 11 passes for 116 yards for Wake Forest.
Brady Cook was 29-of-48 passing for 215 yards and one touchdown for Missouri. Cody Schrader rushed for a touchdown and Demariyon Houston had a scoring catch as the Tigers (6-7) finished .500 or lower for the fourth consecutive season.
Hartman got the record-setting 108th touchdown pass on Wake Forest’s first drive when he connected with Morin on a 5-yard aerial.
Hartman has stated that he will either declare for the NFL draft or enter the transfer portal. He finishes the Wake Forest portion of his career with 12,967 passing yards, second in ACC history behind North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers (13,484 from 2000-03).
Missouri took its first lead of the game at 17-14 when Schrader scored on a 4-yard run with 5:45 left in the third quarter.
The Demon Deacons answered rapidly with Hartman finding Banks wide open at the Tigers’ 25-yard line and the receiver finishing the play for a 48-yard touchdown. Matthew Dennis clanked the extra point off the right upright for his first miss of the season to keep the Wake Forest lead at three.
The Demon Deacons tacked on when Hartman hit Morin on a 16-yard scoring pass to make it 27-17 with 2:33 left in the game.
After Wake Forest’s early touchdown, Missouri got on the board on Harrison Mevis’ 35-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the opening quarter. The Demon Deacons responded with Ellison’s 1-yard scoring run to boost their lead to 14-3 with 10:51 remaining in the first half.
The Tigers moved within four later in the half when a scrambling Cook saw approaching defenders in his path and quickly threw a 1-yard scoring pass to Houston with 2:28 left.
–Field Level Media
